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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. band — a music group
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. plane — a tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a ring
  11. content — happy
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — for money
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bank — for money
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. shower — rain
  20. root — of a word
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com